Have you ever written a straw man in a story? He’s the opponent you set up for the purpose of easily defeating, usually in order to destroy a belief or opinion he holds that you as an author despise. Let’s… Read More ›
Writing Tips
Weekly writing tips
My Writing and Editing Steps
Authors differ in how they approach writing a novel. Some outline the story first and write detailed character sketches. Others, like me, make up everything while they write. Some edit as they write. Others write the story without editing, then go back… Read More ›
Book Length Issues – Part 2 (Making your story shorter)
In my previous tip, I talked about how long certain novel categories should be and how to lengthen a story that is too short. Today, let’s grab a scalpel and learn how to cut the fat from an overly long story…. Read More ›
Book Length Issues – Part 1
I receive quite a number of questions about how long a story should be and how to alter a story so that it matches length expectations. Many writers, especially younger ones, ask me how to lengthen stories. Yet, it’s interesting that… Read More ›
Writing Tips – What Would You Like to See?
I would like to hear from you. What writing issues would you like to see me address in my Monday writing tips? While your suggestions collect in the box, this feature will go on hiatus through the end of the year…. Read More ›
Letting Your Readers Celebrate – Reward the Hero
In an earlier post I mentioned the need to express triumph and satisfaction in a story’s ending phase. When the heroic character (usually the protagonist) achieves a major goal, we need to provide a feeling of triumph that overcame seemingly impossible odds. Because… Read More ›
Character Descriptions While Writing with Intimate Point of View
As I mentioned in this post several weeks ago, when writing with an intimate point of view (POV), we should avoid describing anything that the focal character would not notice. We are trying to show the world through the eyes of… Read More ›
Preparing Your Character for a Sequel
The thread that binds a series together is usually a character. More often than not, the first book’s main character is also a primary character in the sequel, and we hope the second book picks up where the first book left… Read More ›
The Conflict Cycle – Part Two
In last week’s tip, I began a discussion of the conflict cycle and looked at the first of these two main components: An obstacle arises to block a character from achieving a goal. The character responds to the obstacle. Today, I will… Read More ›
The Conflict Cycle – Part One
(The outline material for this series of tips comes from Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain.) Every story needs conflict. Without conflict, there is no real story. Simply put, conflict comes from any obstacle that blocks your character’s… Read More ›